Information for Vendors

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The U.S. government is the single largest consumer in the world, purchasing over $450 billion dollars in goods and services annually. Various laws, Presidential Executive Orders, and procurement regulations require federal agencies to purchase "greener" products and services. A vast market opportunity exists for vendors who provide these green products.

Identify the Current Green Purchasing Goals for Each Federal Agency or Department

Executive Order 13693 requires each federal agency or department to develop annual Strategic Sustainability Performance Plans, in which an Agency or Department's annual green purchasing goals are outlined. Being aware of these goals can help vendors demonstrate how procurement of their greener products and services will help specific federal agencies and departments meet their SSPP goals.

Determine Agency Future Procurement Plans

Forecasts help vendors identify procurements that offer opportunities for their participation early in the acquisition process. They also help to enhance vendors' knowledge of requirements and increase competition for government contracts. The forecasts are for planning purposes only. They provide information such as description code, estimated dollar value, fiscal year, contracting officer, phone number, target award date, and method of procurement. Agency procurement forecasts can be found at Acquisition.gov.

Register to Become an Eligible Federal Government Vendor

Both current and potential government vendors are required to register in the System for Award Management in order to be awarded contracts. A vendor must be registered in the SAM prior to the award of a contract.

Access Portals to Selling Green Products to the Federal Government

Federal Business Opportunities is the single point of universal electronic public access on the Internet for government-wide, federal procurement opportunities/solicitations that exceed $25,000. Government buyers post business opportunities on the FedBizOpps site. Commercial vendors seeking federal markets for their products and services can search, monitor, and retrieve opportunities/solicitations posted by the entire federal contracting community through this portal. FedBizOpps also sends feedback to vendors through an e-mail notification service. Vendors can receive general procurement announcements, notices of solicitations, and information on pre-solicitations.

GSA Advantage!® is the online shopping and ordering system that provides access to thousands of contractors and millions of supplies (products) and services. In FY2014, over $629 million dollars in sales were made via GSA Advantage!®. Agencies can browse available Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) and GSA Global Supply items and select the one that is the best value for their requirements. MAS vendors also have the opportunity to highlight their green products on GSA Advantage!® with environmental icons, allowing customers to quickly identify products that meet green purchasing requirements. Environmental icons are added to product listings by vendors via the Schedules Input Program (SIP). Documentation to substantiate the use of environmental attributes, or icons, in GSA Advantage!® may include:

Product specifications

Product test documents

Product labeling

Certification from a third-party test facility

For distributors, a letter of compliance confirmation from manufacturers

Identification of the product by the agency that manages the label or program

For certain products that are energy efficient, water conserving or made with recovered/biobased content, Federal purchasers must buy the green alternative product (subject to certain exceptions). DOD EMALL offers items with these positive environmental characteristics and these products are easily identified in DOD EMALL with a 'green tree' logo.

When a vendor is adding a product or service to DOD EMall, they will be prompted to indicate if the product meets any of the Environmental Attribute, or ENAC codes. ENAC codes are listed in DOD EMALL. Products with ENAC codes are considered green, and contribute towards a federal purchaser meeting their federal green purchasing requirements. Federal purchasers can search DOD EMall for products searching on the ‘green tree' which will list the product and the 2-character ENAC code specific to that product. Currently, there are over 105,000 items in DOD EMALL identified with the ENAC.

For assistance in using DOD EMALL, contact the DLA Green Products Team at GreenProducts@dla.mil or call the Greenline at (804) 279-4060 or DSN 695-4060.

Get Additional Technical Support

The Defense Logistics Agency, on behalf of the Secretary of Defense, administers the Procurement Technical Assistance (PTA) Cooperative Agreement Program. The PTA Centers are a local resource available that can provide assistance to business firms in marketing products and services to the federal, state, and local governments.

PRONet is an electronic gateway of procurement information for and about small businesses. It is a search engine for contracting officers, a marketing tool for small firms, and a "link" to procurement opportunities. It is an Internet-based database of information on more than 200,000 small, disadvantaged, 8(a), and women-owned businesses. It is free to federal and state government agencies as well as prime and other contractors seeking small business contractors, subcontractors, and/or partnership opportunities.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) administers the Green Government Opportunities for Small Businesses website, and the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Program to provide management assistance to current and prospective small business owners. SBDCs offer one-stop assistance to small businesses by providing a wide variety of information and guidance. There are now 58 SBDCs with a network of nearly 1,100 service locations. Their services include, but are not limited to, assisting small businesses with financial, marketing, organization, engineering and technical issues.

Sub-Net is managed by the Small Business Administration is being used to post subcontracting opportunities. These may or may not be reserved for small businesses and they may include other solicitations or notices, including notices of sources for subcontractors on future contracts. Sub-Net is used by federal agencies, state and local governments, and educational entities.

The Ability One Program is a federal socioeconomic procurement program that creates job opportunities for Americans who are blind or have other severe disabilities. As a mandatory source of supply, nonprofit agencies associated with the Ability One Program offer a wide variety of products and services to the federal government. Ability One associated nonprofit agencies also perform services at federal offices and military installations. These service contracts incorporate recycled and biobased products.